Salad dressing and method of preparing the same



Patented Oct. 15,. 1940 UNITED STATES sALAD DRESSING AND METHOD or PRE-' PARINGTHE SAME Albert Mu sher, New York, if, assignor to- Musher Corporation, Elizabeth, N. .L,

No Drawing.

Application September 14, 1938,

Serial N; 229,877

8 Claims. I 01. 99-144) The present invention relates to dressings and sauces for Various foods andit particularly ;r e-. lates to dressings for salads..

The usual salad dressings generally consisting in part or whole of mayonnaise or mayonnaise ingredients and including substantial proportions of oils or oily materials are quite expensive betreated as for'example 'with paraffin, and fur, thermore would tend tobreak down said coatings and eliminate their moisture. protection qualities. r a It is therefore among the objects ofthe present invention toprovide an improved food composition of the character above described, and. particularly improved salad dresslngsor similar dressings, which may be readily inexpensively compounded of readily. available, inexpensive edible and wholesome food elements and which, at the same time, will not be excessively expensive because of inclusion of expensive salad oil therein. I

Another object is to provide improved'salad dressings of the character above described which may be readily packaged in papenfibre, -or similar cups or containers even though such cups or containers are not specially treated to be.

grease resistant without said oil staining or seepparting from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

In accomplishing the above objects it has been found most suitable'according to one embodiment of the present invention to provide'a salad dressing having the usual flavoring constituents therein, such as vinegar, spice, salt, pepper and so forth, the body or base, however, of which is formed primarily from a water thickener, or

from a water absorbent or water miscible colloid, which will have the effect of absorbing or taking up or forming a pasty mass with water or aqueous materials. g 4

The preferred material of this character is a starchy material and many difl'erent starches maybe employed, Whether derived frorn potato,

com,.tapioca, and so forth. Also gums may be vused such as karaya, tragacanth, etc., or other materials such as pectin, etc.

Of thewater absorbent colloids or water absorbent bodier or thickeningmaterials. that may i be utilized, corn starch, for'example, has been cause 'of the relatively high price of the saladfoundto be one of the most-suitable, particularly when used in proportions of between t015%."

With'theuse of starch, for example, as. the

'bodier or thickening jagent in the salad dressing or similar food composition, and wherelt'he oil is substantially absent, a particular difiiculty. often arises due to the gummy or starchy taste of the dressing and also because of the tendency for thedressing to stick to the, tongue or to the a .roof of the mouthlor to theteeth uponmastication of the'food or salads "prepared with such,

dressing, and it is therefore among the further. objects of the present invention to provide a salad dressing or similar food composition of the character above'described in which will be substantially lessened'the gummy, starchy, ge-

Jatino'us or pasty taste characteristics 'of high starch or'high gum content foodstuffs and which .will also be capable of mastication with materially less sticking to "the roof .of the mouth or to the tongue or' to theteeth of the person masticating the same.

In accomplishing the lastmentionedobject, it

has beenfound particularly suitable to incor-v gasmay be most advantageously incorporated" into the dressing and may be more or less per-,-

manently fixed therein, so as to generally with stand the normal handling, shipping and storing thereof. e v v In obtaining these aerated materials, it has been foundadvantageous to introduce air ina beating operation. Several of. theseair integrators or airifiers are, for example, albumens, milk powder, gelatin, and similar animal, vegetable or mineral substances capable of, being whipped with airgin the'presence of aqueous,

materials so as to produce a fluff or similar aerated condition.

the air whipped therein, are. protein materials.

tegrators or airifiers. These materials assist in "the ingestion of air during the whippingor of animal or vegetable origin such as casein,

albumen, gelatin or gums, lecithin, various waxes or resins and so forth. These aerationstabilizersmaybe used in different proportions depending upon the degree of stabilization required, the type of aeration agent used, the characteristics of the product .to be aerated and similar other considerations Per cent Powdered egg albumenui over Powdered gelatin j over-5 Liquid egg yolk over? Powdered skim milk over? Liquid egg albumen over4 Air integrators, airifiers or aeration stabilizers are all hereinabove and hereinafter included by the expression aeration agent.

'I'heprocess for aeration may consist of beating or whipping in any 'of the standard? mixing or beating machines or it may consist of processing in other aerating equipment, and if desired, air may be blown into the product during the heating -or other operations, 1

Generally in thepreferred composition starch and water, or other aqueous materials'such as vinegar are incorporated and cooked to form a pastry mass of usual consistency required for ordinary salad dressing., There is then added sufiicient airifier materials-to enable increase in volume upon whipping 'tofgform a stabilized aerated product, which increase in volume may vary up to 300%, or more, although generally this lncrease in volume ranges between 10% and 100%, but for the most preferred embodiment these ranges should usually vary between 20% and 60% and usually over 30%.

With the inclusion of air it has been found that the obiectionable'starchy taste of the composition has been materially lessened and that the dressing, although made of relatively inexpensive starch thickener, as compared to the cost of salad oil, is of high quality, tasty and has all the desirable qualities of relatively expensive oily salad dressings or' mayonnaise now on the market.

Although it is not exactly clear as to how the inclusion of air with the aeration materials removes the undesirable starchy'or gummy taste from the product, it does appear clear, however, that the starch particles which may be present in the product, have been converted into such form that they do not tend to cohere: or coalesce either in the composition or upon mastication due apparently to the action of the air bubbles to hold these starch particles apart. As a result it is not readily possible for the consumer to tell that he is eating a starchy product as contrasted to the usual oily product.

The final composition in containing no or little salad oil has substantially the appearance, consistency, smoothness, body texture and other quality of oily salad dressings, or of mayonnaise devoid or starch or made with substantial percentages of oil.

A particular feature of the present invention resides in the fact that these substantially oil-less salad dressings consisting of starch, or other gummy, gelatinous, or pasty materials, air and an aeration agent maybe readily packaged in paper, fibre or cardboard cartons with materially lessened or without oil staining or seepage and breaking down of moisture resistant paraffin coatings. This is not possible with the usual type of oily mayonnaise or salad dressing compositions.

In contrast to the usual mayonnaise containing for example, about oil, and 20% of spices, vinegar, and so forth and devoid of starch, and the usual salad dressing containing from 35 to 50% of oil, with about 50 to 65% of aqueous starch paste, spices, and so forth, the composition of the present invention may be devoid of oil or contain small amounts thereof, if at all desired, and may contain about 1% of powdered albumen and up to 99% of the other ingredients including aqueous starch paste composed mostly of water and vinegar with an increased volume per weight depending upon the type and quantity of aeration agent used, etc., of from 10 to 20% or even 50% or more as compared with the average salad dressing or mayonnaise.

The amount of aeration agent used may be varied so as to produce more or less aeration of the product. However, the higher the aeration the greater will be the reduction of the'pasty, gummy or gelatinous qualities. Also to produce various qualities and'degrees of aeration, various combinations of airifiers may be used. Likewise, various air stabilizers may be combined or used together to provide the various qualities or characteristics required.

With the reduced'solid content because of a large air content, a product is produced which has a greatly improved taste, flavor and texture and which is more acceptable than the more gummy, heavier products having a greaterspecific gravity or a greater weight per volume.

Although heretofore salad dressings have been utilized containing starch together with oil, it has not been possible to remove all or most of the oil and maintain an acceptableproduct as is done in the present invention, because such oil is necessary to decrease the undesirable starch characteristics and one of the basic advantages of the present invention resides in the fact that all or most of the oil may be removed or eliminated and there will still result a salad dressing of high desirable qualities substantially devoid of any starch characteristics.

To give several examples of compositions which may be made according to the present invention: Example 1.-A cooked starch base is made up of the following formula:

Grams Cornstarch 100 Water 580 Sugar and salt 327 Vinegar 218 These materials arev mixed together and cooked until the starch paste is fully thickened.

In order to produce a finished salad dressing the following formula is employed:

, Grams The above starch paste 289 Dry egg albumen (egg white) 3 Vinegar 15 Water 34 Salt and sugar 37 Paprika to give required color.

The starch paste and the egg albumen are whipped together at high speedfor about seconds or until the product has developed a very good fiufi. From this point on care must be taken not to whip out the air which has been beaten into the product.

Th remaining liquid including the water and 2,217,699 r '3 V vinegar shouldbe added slowly while the machine is allowed to-beat slowly. 'After the maximum aeration is developed any'further beating should be for a very short time and it should be at slow,

speed, The sugar and salt orother spice mate'- rials if required may be added along with the dry egg albumen. I i f- Other examples are as follows:

Example Example Example ,2 3 4 The above starch paste Grams, 289 289 289 Sugar and salt .do. 36 36 36 Gelatin .-do 24 Liquid egg yolk do l5 Skim milk powder .30.". 40

Water and vinegfll- 34 34 140 Paprika to give required color.

' affect the amount of air that is integrated or retained in the product. In general a highbeating of sufficient time should be given to the product in order to produce the maximum amount of aeration and, after this aeration has been produced, if any further mixing or beating is necessary or if the addition of any other materials are necessary these should be added or the product should be beaten or mixed at a slow speed and for the very minimum amount of time so as to retain the maximum amount of air in the product.

Any of the compositions of this invention may be modified by the addition of catsup, chili sauce, prepared mustard, nuts, chopped pickles, peanut butter, chopped meats, cheese, olives, and so forth, in order to produce any usual variety of sauces, spreads or dressings. 1

This invention also may be utilized generally in connection with emulsions and dispersions, and particularly with oil-in-water emulsions containing an aqueous starchy, gummy or pasty base material, as for instance, in salad dressings. These products have heretofore been made of liquid oil in order to give the product smoothness and creaminess, but it is now possible to eliminate or reduce the liquid oil and yet produce a substantially creamy and smooth product without the use of said liquid oil.

Several very important advantages result from the ability to make a salad dressing with normal salad dressing characteristics, but without the necessity of having to use salad oil in the manufacture thereof. For instance,-vegetable oils are very susceptible to rancidity particularly when they have been whipped with air. In addition with oil-water emulsions there is also a tendency for the oil and water to separate. This separation may be due to transportation, climatic conditions, excessive temperature, and so forth. However, in the present invention there is developed a product which has substantially all of the characteristics of normal salad dressing that is made with salad oil, but without the serious disadvantages, as, for instance the development of the oil rancidity, and the separating difiiculties which result from a salad dressing made with salad oil.

Products of the present invention are more acceptable because they do not have the oiliness that is found in the usual salad dressin'g'which contains liquid oil. Thereis usually a strong objection among consumers of mayonnaise and salad dressing to oiliness or an oily flavor.-

Salad oil -or otheroils may also be included in certain instances in amounts'lessthan -l0.-% and preferably in amounts less;than %,although as sible to no oil whatsoever'n. Itis possible in the case of many aeration agents to use one type of aeration agent in an increased quantity to act as'both an air stabilizer and an air integrator, since in manycases-bothfunction to some degree in both capacities, r

The invention is'notintended to be restricted to 1. A substantially oilless, aerated salad dressing comprising salad dressing flavoring material's, an

aqueous material, a water thickener of normally pasty consistency when gelatinized by the aqueous material, and an aeration agent, said aeration agent being present in the quantity to produce sufficient aeration of the dressing so as to enable reduced gumminess therein of the water thickener and aqueous material, and said water thickener being in pasted form with the aqueous material.

2. A substantially oilless, aerated salad dressing comprising salad dressing materials, water, a water thickener of normally pasty consistency when gelatinized by water, and an aeration agent, said dressing having a gas present in sufficient quantity so as to reduce the pasty characteristic of the water thickener and water combination therein, and said water thickener being in pasted form with the water.

3. An aerated, substantially oilless, relatively non-gummy, and relatively oil-seepageless salad dressing comprising over 20 air by volume, salad dressing flavoring materials, over 7 by weight of liquid egg yolk, and an aqueous starch paste containing a ratio of water, to starch of about ten to one.

4. A substantially oilless, aerated salad dressing comprising salad dressing flavoring materials, water, a Water thickener of normally pasty consistency when gelatinized by water, an aeration agent, and an air stabilizing agent, said salad dressing having non-toxic gas present therein in sufficient quantity to reduce the pasty characteristic of the water thickener and water combination, said air stabilizer being present in sufficient quantity to increase the strength of the walls surrounding the air pockets within the salad dressing, and said water thickener being in pasted form with the water.

5. A method of enhancing the quality of relatively pasty, substantially oilless salad dressing which salad dressing comprises salad dressingv flavoring materials, water, a water absorbent material that gelatinizes in the presence of water to form a pastymass, with said Water absorbent material being in pasted, form with the water present, which method comprises including in said &

as to entrain an amount of air within the product in sufficient quantity to reduce the pasty quality of the combination of the aqueous material with the water absorbent material, and then discontinuing the agitation at the point that the required amount of air is beaten therein so as notto whip out the air.

'I. The salad dressing of claim 1, the aeration agent being. egg albumen.

8. The salad dressing of claim 1, the aeration agent being egg albumen, and'said salad dressing comprising over 20% by volume of air.

ALBERT .MUSI-IER. 

